Beginner suit question

[CornishChris 5]

I am signed up for a wingsuit course with Fly Your Body (Jean Loic-Albert) in Gap next month and I have started looking into wingsuits and talking to a number of wingsuiters in relation to purchasing my first suit.

It appears to me that most of the wingsuit pilots I have spoken to have gone straight onto an 'experienced' suit like a GTI (as in the case of my CI) and I am interested to see that I have been reccommended the S-Fly Indy by the company running the course. This is a fairly new suit designed for beginners and before this they only did the Access and the Expert so the progression was - do the course on the Access then get an Expert.

Am I right in assuming that these 'beginner' suits are filling a hole that wasn't necessarily there in the marketplace before. I a nervous about spending the money on one then finding that I outgrow it pretty fast. If I get 15 or so jumps on the course will the Expert or a similar suit be right?

I am not a complete noob looking for approval to do something before it's the right time, I am honestly interested in how others here have progressed and whether they see a value in suits such as the Indy. Incidentally this isn't restricted to just S-fly.

For reference:
http://www.flyyourbody.com/en/online-shop/wingsuits.html

Thoughts welcome.

CJP

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people

[LouDiamond 1]

Zun was just here in Arizona with an Indy and it is a very good beginner suit in my opinion. What I would recommend and what you will probably end up doing, is several flights/days on the Indy and then move up to a different suit such as the Verso if you are not having any issues. If that is indeed the case, fly the Verso as much as possible. If you don't plan on flying the suit regularly, a beginner suit such as the Indy might be a good choice. However, if you plan on flying the suit every time you go to the DZ then I would recommend you look at an Intermediate level suit to continue to learn on and fly for the next several hundred jumps before you even consider upgrading to another suit.

"It's just skydiving..additional drama is not required"
Some people dream about flying, I live my dream
SKYMONKEY PUBLISHING

[mccordia 74]

Renting or borrowing a suit (like the GTi your CI has) the first 20 to 40 ws jumps is advisable. Much like canopy progression, its best to learn to fly and get a feeling of what suit you enjoy flying most.

A first wingsuit should not be needing an upgrade, and depending on what you love doing in your flying could be anything from a beginner to intermediate to advanced model.
Demo the suits (suitable for your experience level) and for sure take a look at the thriving market of 2nd hand suits as well..

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[RMK 3]

Good choice on the FYB course with Zun. They provide suits for the courses and then at both Gap and Empuriabrava, you can rent FYB wingsuits afterwards until you purchase. They’ll put you on the Indie (or Access) until you’re ready to step up to the next suit the “Expert”. Don’t be in a rush to move up in suits, they’ll see when you’re ready (and you’ll also know). For me, I did about 12-14 jumps on the Access and then moved on to the Expert and bought one. However, this was prior to the Indie and Verso models coming out.

Contrary to the name, the Verso is a higher level suit than the Expert.

"Pain is the best instructor, but no one wants to attend his classes"

[CornishChris 5]

Thanks for the input. I was aware that the Verso was higher level than the expert.

I plan on jumping the suit regularly so leaning towards an Expert instead of an Indy but planning to but a decent number of jumps on the Access or Indy before I upgrade. Also could borrow the GTI from my CI as he is a similar build to me.

Any other input from anyone?

CJP

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people

[Titanium_Gecko 0]

Chris,

Have fun in Gap! When you get back give me a shout and I'll come fly with you anywhere in my Expert.

If you can get cleared for the Expert or Verso, great, otherwise just enjoy as there's plenty of suits (borrowed GTi, Firebird c/o Mark Harris, Phantom c/o Pheonix Fly etc.) to try back home. Ditto - I'd recommend waiting until cleared/happy for an intermediate suit (as against Access or Indie or Prodigy).

I was there the week before last skills training with Zun and co. having trained on the Access in France in 2009. They really will help you understand how to fly your body and get a feel (for the range/capability) of the suit.

Blue Skies,

Ross

www.gathhelmets.co.uk
www.flyyourbody.com

[CornishChris 5]

Cheers Ross

where is your home DZ? I jump at Hinton but am moving to Cambridge so likely to be at Chatteris & Sibson...

CJP

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people

[mccordia 74]

Also give SkydiveMacca a shout (Zeemax on here). He's also jumping in those regions, and also has a nice demo fleet if you want to try some suits here and there.

JC
FlyLikeBrick
I'm an Athlete?

[notsane 0]

Never buy a suit that you haven't jumped.

[Titanium_Gecko 0]

Langar is my home DZ, an hour north of Sibson, but have also flown at Sibson and Black Knights this year. I live in Cheshire and work in London, normally - .

I've never jumped at Hinton or Chatteris so always up for an adventure!

Ross

www.gathhelmets.co.uk
www.flyyourbody.com

[flusspirat 0]

for what it's worth:
i knew wingsuiting was for me and bought an expert in advance and then had my fjc on my own suit.
the expert is awesome, i put about 150 skydives and a few basejumps on it before upgrading to a profly.
still haven't tried to sell the expert yet as i loved the suit so much and still use it for the occasional skyjump with friens.
it might be a little easier to use an indy for your first few jumps and then go for a verso though.

[shropshire 0]

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Cheers Ross

where is your home DZ? I jump at Hinton but am moving to Cambridge so likely to be at Chatteris & Sibson...

When you get here ... give me a shout, if you like (I jump at Sibson, in the main). The wing suit lads (Macca, Dave, Mark, Dean ......et al) are good lads and very patient (need to be with me and my little Intro)

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[DSE 5]

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at good lads and very patient (need to be with me and my little Intro)

That "little Intro" and the corresponding sized Phoenix-fly Phantom 2 are two of the most under-rated wings out there, IMO. A good body position and an average weight/height ratio will keep up with a lot of the big guys flying dirty in a bigger suit. Look at what the Ill Vision guys can do in a Phantom2...small suit, big skills=sweet stuff.

• Quote

[Butters 0]

The Phantom 2 is an amazing all around wingsuit ...

"That looks dangerous." Leopold Stotch

[DSE 5]

I know....t'is why I just bought one.

[shropshire 0]

I have no intention of changing, I love mine,, really it's huge amounts of fun and I have LOADS to learn but it does look little next to the big boys toys.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[Buried 0]

there too many are out there who want to 'up size' quickly. In reality, it's not a good choice since it only hurts them in the long term. They haven't learned or are just starting to learn basic stills and advanced maneuvers. Many times the larger suit is actually a hinderance in learning since it requires them to fly in a different fall rate window that today's avg flocks are going to get the correct performance out of the suit.
not pointed at you but "it's not the suit, you just suck" is a good rule of thumb

Where is my fizzy-lifting drink?

[Zeemax 0]

There's lots of suit options, and as has been said, I wouldn't buy one without jumping it first.

You also don't need to worry about buying a suit and upgrading quickly.

Sadly, in WS, people treat them like downsizing canopies in reverse. They automatically assume you have to get the biggest wings they can, as quickly as they can - which is usually to the detriment of their skills advancement.

Depending on the kind of wingsuit flying you want to do, you'll probably find a smaller winged suit is the one for you. I'm very fortunate in that I have my pick of a number of wingsuits of varying sizes - right up to the huge - but the suit that lives on my rig 95% of the time is my Phantom 2z.

I really love this suit, and really, really enjoy to fly it. I can stay bang on with any flock - even the really slow falling ones, and still disappear come break off. It's a fantastic all rounder, with bags of performance, but the wings are small enough to not cause any concern come pull time and is the suit I put a lot of students in for FFCs.

There's a lot of us wingsuiters up at Sibson most weekends and between us we have a number of demo suits, so why not come up, say hello, and try a few on.

I should certainly have a Phantom2 that will fit you

Phoenix Fly - High performance wingsuits for skydiving and BASE
Performance Designs - Simply brilliant canopies

[JanuszPS 0]

Phantom 2 - I bought one 2nd hand and I love it. I made about 50 jumps on it, couple of rodeo jumps from TurboFinnist and still have a lot to learn on it. it's great to experiment. Never tried more advanced though, but I hope to check them out soon.
j.
Edit:
BTW it's my first own WS and I don't regret it.

Back to Poland... back home.

[The111 1]

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Never buy a suit that you haven't jumped.

Says Scott after learning the hard way with several suits.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[BenediktDE 2]

As a rather ground hungry guy (over 100kg exit weight) I flock in a Ghost2 but still I would never think about selling my Phantom (first version).
I try every new maneuver on the Phantom first because it is very forgiving if you do newbie mistakes in aerobatics.

Even with the smaller wings the Phantom1 has vs. the new version and putting over 100kg on it, I still fly it at a glide of about 2.0 to 2.4.
The Phantom2 has bigger wings and much better pressurisation. You'll love it!

For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.

[SuperGirl 0]

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I try every new maneuver on the Phantom first because it is very forgiving if you do newbie mistakes in aerobatics.

+1
love love loooooooove my new Phantom2

I am constantly amazed with how stable it flies and how easy it is to do all kinds of aerobatics in it. It's like it was made to fly on its back And it's also just a very fun all around suit that has lots of range for both beginner and experienced pilots... I'd put about 500 flights on my Raptor before I got the Phantom, and it certainly isn't boring!

I've also recently found that if flies extremely smooth and stable in rodeos, where my passengers often try to do all kinds of things they aren't supposed to do...

[CornishChris 5]

So today I placed an order for an S-Fly Expert from Fly Your Body. Booked onto the wingsuit course in two weeks and the suit turns up in late July so should have time to do a few jumps on a few other suits before it arrives.

Thanks for the input.

CJP

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people

[Titanium_Gecko 0]

Nice one, Dude!

Ross

www.gathhelmets.co.uk
www.flyyourbody.com

[Zeemax 0]

You bought a suit before not only trying it, but also before even trying wingsuit flying?

Good luck on the course. Plenty of us WS pilots here in the UK for when you get back

Phoenix Fly - High performance wingsuits for skydiving and BASE
Performance Designs - Simply brilliant canopies